1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to improved packaging, more specifically improved pouches, for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and medical products.
2. Background Art
Currently, pouches on the market for pharmaceutical, cosmetic and medical products are constituted by a front and a back material sealed firmly together all around the perimeter of the pouch. The pouches are made out of laminates known to the art as laminates of metal foils and polymeric films, typically decorated with printing on one or both visible sides of the pouch.
Typical pouch laminate constructions are laminates of polyester films adhering to a metal foil, such as, an aluminum foil, adhering to a sealant layer, typically made out of a polyolefinic material, such as, polyethylene, polypropylene or copolymers thereof.
The polyester film is typically printed on one side. The printing may be buried between the polyester film and the adhesive, known as reverse printing, or may be on the surface of the polyester and exposed to the outside environment, known as surface printing. In many situations the surface printing would require an overlacquer, also known as an overprint varnish, to protect the ink from flaking or scuffing when exposed to the rigors or packaging lines, shipping stresses and consumer misuse.
The pouch constructions, as known in the art, are made out of multiple layers put together with an adhesive. The adhesive may be, although not necessarily, a urethane base or a polyolefinic type like polyethylene and its copolymers. The selection of the layers and the adhesive to adhere the layers together or the heat seal coatings to effect the seals, depend upon the product to be packaged, conditions of use, storage conditions and the barrier requirements needed to protect the product. Moisture, oxygen, light and sometimes other gases can be detrimental to the packaged product, and a protection to such environmental effects is required. In such applications, a metal foil as barrier is often used. In some applications, such barrier is not required, and more cost-effective structures can be used successfully. Such structures would, for instance, be constituted of biaxially oriented polypropylene with a polyolefinic sealant layer, such as, polyethylene, or a laminate of paper and a polymeric sealant could also be used.
The pouch embodiment is fabricated by welding the sealant layer together, thereby constituting an enclosed pocket containing the goods to be packaged. See FIG. 1.
In certain pharmaceutical applications, such pouch laminate is realized so that the tear resistance of the material is high enough to prevent children from tearing them, and are thereby considered child-resistant. A typical mode of opening for adults is realized by providing the pouch with a notch in the seal area, this notch not extending to the extremity of the pouch. The sealed area needs to be folded over the notch and the pouch torn from the notch in the direction of said notch to tear the pouch open. See FIGS. 2 and 3. This sequence of movements is not achievable by children of age less than 51 months and, therefore, the pouch is considered child-resistant.
In the case of pouches used for pharmaceutical products, the United States Food and Drug Administration, as well as similar administrations in other countries, require that each unit or single dose have a complete disclosure of the product content, dosage, side-effects, etc., thereby constantly increasing the surface required to print such vast information with font size readily legible by consumers. Therefore, the pharmaceutical industry and consumers are afflicted by increasing costs of packaging, as the size of these packages increase simply to allow for sufficient print area.